Outsole for ultimate balance and shoe comfort



P. AGRILLO Aug. 28, 1956 OUTSOLE FOR ULTIMATE BALANCE AND SHOE COMFORT Filed March 31, 1955 INVENTOR.

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ATT'URN EYS United States Patent OUTSOLE FOR ULTIMATE BALANCE AND SHOE COR'IFORT Paul Agrillo, Gilroy, Calif.

Application March 31, 1955, Serial No. 498,201

1 Claim. (Cl. 36-2.5)

This invention relates to footwear and particularly Wearing soles and balancing means added to the soles of conventional shoes for balancing the load transmitted through a shoe and also for relieving wear of conventional soles.

The purpose of this invention is to provide means for incorporating a balancing element in the instep or directly behind the metatarsus of a foot and also to provide means for combining an added or wearing sole with the heel and sole of a conventional shoe.

The greatest wear of a conventional shoe sole is throughout the intermediate portion which carries the load of a foot in the shoe. The edges of the sole in which the stitches are positioned are not supported and, consequently,'are free to yield so that wear on the edges of shoe soles is reduced to a minimum. Furthermore, the instep or arch, directly behind the metatarsus is unsupported in a conventional shoe. With these thoughts in mind, this invention contemplates an additional wearing sole secured, such as by cement, to the lower surfaces of the heel and sole of a shoe with the edge of the wearing sole spaced inwardly from the edge of the conventional sole and with a substantially hemispherical element having a spring therein positioned between the wearing sole and arch or instep portion spaced forwardly of the heel to provide balancing means for a load transmitted by a foot in the shoe.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for installing a wearing sole and also a balancing element on a conventional shoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for installing a wearing sole and a balancing element on a conventional shoe without changing parts of the shoe.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a wearing sole and balancing element for a conventional shoe in which both the sole and balancing elements are adapted to be installed on a shoe now in use by the average shoe repairman or layman.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved wearing sole and balancing element for a conventional shoe in which the wearing sole and balancing element are of simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in View, the invention embodies an additional sole of material having indefinite wearing qualifies adapted to be secured, such as by cement, to the lower surface of a heel :and also to the intermediate part of the lower surface of a sole of a shoe and a balancing element with a spring therein and having a cover and shim in combination therewith adapted to be positioned in :an area below the arch or instep and between the forward edge of the heel and ball portion of a sole and upon the wearing sole.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a shoe with the wearing sole and balancing element secured in position thereon.

Figure 2 is a view looking upwardly toward the under surface of a shoe with the parts as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view looking toward the under surface of a shoe, such as shown in Figure 1, with the wearing sole omitted.

Figure 4 is a cross section through the wearing sole and balancing element and cover with the conventional sole and upper of the shoe omitted, said section being taken on line 44 of Figure 3 and the parts thereof being shown on'an enlarged scale.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view, similar to that shown in Figure 1, illustrating a modification wherein the cover of the balancing element is omitted and in which the forward and rear portions of the conventional and wearing soles are broken away.

Figure 6 is a view illustrating a shim adapted to be positioned in the wedge-shaped area between the conventional and wearing soles and directly behind the metatarsus of a foot positioned in the shoe.

Figure 7 is a plan view of a balancing element, somewhat similar to that shown in Figures 3 and 4, with ends of the element extended to provide holes for additional springs.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section through the balancingelement shown in Figure 7 being taken on line 88 thereof and illustrating the arrangement of the spring receiving opening.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts, the improved outsole and balancing element of this invention include a Wearing sole generally indicated by the numeral 10 and having a forward portion 11, a heel 12 and an intermediate portion 13, a substantially hemispherical balancing element 14 having an opening 15 therethrough, a spring 16 positioned in the opening 15 of the element 14, and a cover 17 having an opening 18 extended therethrough and in which the member 14 is positioned, and the device may :also be provided with a shim 19, wedge shaped in longitudinal section and adapted to be positioned between the wearing sole 10 and conventional sole 2%) of the shoe, which is indicated by the numeral 21, and directly behind the matatarsus of a foot positioned in the shoe, as shown in Figure 5.

As illustrated in Figure 2, edge 22 of the forward portion 11 of the wearing sole 10 is spaced inwardly from edge 23 and row of stitches 24 of the conventional sole 20 whereby the forward portion of the wearing sole is positioned to take the load and Wear so that the stitches of the conventional sole and also the intermediate portion of the conventional sole are protected and will not be subjected to wear.

By the same means a conventional heel, as indicated by the numeral 25, is protected from wear and with the wearing sole 10 formed of a plastic or long-wearing composition, such as rubber and other combinations thereof, the life of the wearing sole is indefinite and with the conventional sole and heel protected the shoe retains its original form.

The balancing element or member 14 is adapted to be used independently, without the cover 17, as shown in Figure 5, or the area around the balancing element may be filled with the cover 17 which extends from an end 26 at forward edge 27 of the conventional heel to points 28 and 29 substantially at the meeting point of the lower surface of the conventional sole 20 and the upper surface of the wearing sole 10. The cover or filling element 17 may be of any suitable design and may be formed of any suitable material.

The wedge shaped shim 19, which is substantially triangular shaped in plan is adapted to be secured to the wearing sole 10 with fasteners, such as rivets 30 which are adapted to be positioned in openings 31, however, it

will also be understood that the shim is'adapted to be secured to the wearing sole 10 with a suitable adhe'sive.

In the design illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, a balancing element 32 having elongated end portions is prev/idea with a centrally positioned opening 33 for a spring 34, similar to the spring 16 and openings 35 and 36 are also provided 'in end portions of the element. The openings35 and 36 'may'also, be provided with springs, as indicated by the numerals 37 and 3S. I

'Theoutsole lfl'with the balancing element 14 positioned thereon and secured to the upper surface with 'a suitable adhesive is adapted to be secured, suchas by an adhesive, to the lower surface of the heel andalso to the lower surfaceof the intermediate portion of the forward part ofthe sole'an'd with the parts positioned asshown in the drawing substantially all 'wear will'be taken by the out'sole' or wearing sole 10. At the 'sam'etime, thehernispherical "section or ball element 14 supports the arch or instep providing balancing means whereby greater comfort is assured in 'walking'and with these parts in position the life of the shoe is extended indefinitely.

'Th'e cover 17 and "also the shim 19 mayor may not be usedfas maybedesired. w H

In'the modification'illustrated' in Figure a wearing or outsole 40, similar to the 'outsole 'is formed with an added stripofmaterial41 of thesame thicknessfas that of the'outsole '40, and a balancing element 42, similar to the element 14 is positioned onthe upper surface'of the strip 41, or between the strip 41 and the lower surface of the co'riventio'nal "sole'43 of a shoe. The'strip 41 extends from apoint 4'4Iat the forward edge 45 of a heel 4'6, to'a point'47, atthe rear endof the shim 19. The balancing element 42 is also provided with a spring or the like as indicated by the numeral 48.

The strip 41 may be integral with the wearing sole 10 or secured thereto by suitable means.

It will be understood that other'modifications, within the scope of the appended claim, may be "made the design and arrangement 'of thep'arts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

'Wliat' is claimed is:

In a shoe, the combination which comprises a sole, an upper mounted on the sole, a heel supporting the rear portion of the sole in an elevated position, a wearing sole covering and secured to the lower surface of the heel and extended forwardly to a point spaced from the toe, said wearing sole being secured to the lower surface of the forward portion of the 'shoe and the heel portion being flush with side surfaces of th'e'heel of the shoe, a wedge-shaped pad'positioned in and substantially filling the area between the forward surface of the heel and point of intersection of the lower surface of thesole of the shoe and upper surface of the wearing sole, said Wedge-shaped pad having a substantially semi-spherical opening in the intermediate part, a substantially hemispherical balancing element with a vertically disposed opening therethrough positioned V in the hemispherical 'openingof the pad, and a coil spring positioned in the opening of the balancing element and extended from the sole of the shoe to the inner surface of the Wearing sole.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,152,284 Broadbooks Aug. 31, 1915 1,172,811 Lewis Feb. '22, 1 916 1,630,445 Murray -May-31, 19,27 2,047,756 Warner July 14, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 63,393 Germany July 19, 1892 13,504 Great Britain Oct.'5, 1888 of 1887 9,421 Great Britain July 5, 1890 

